The present invention relates to an apparatus for aligning elongate articles, for example chocolate bars, which are furnished in a random arrangement, the apparatus being of the type including an input path via which the randomly arranged articles are furnished to a turntable above which a spiral guide rail is disposed which is part of a stationary frame and at which the articles carried along by the turntable abut so as to be aligned, and an outlet path over which the aligned articles are transported away once they are pushed off the edge of the turntable by the guide rail.
In a known apparatus of this type, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,373, a plurality of such guide rails are provided and are arranged so that the articles alternately contact the outer wall and the inner wall of successive guide rails. Each spiral guide rail follows a smooth curve, i.e. one which is free of sharp changes in direction, which is concave toward the axis of the turntable, and the rail guide surfaces are also inclined with respect to the plane and the rail of the turntable.